Chapter 273: Liao He Long Gong Falls, the Dragon King Returns?

One month later, the secret realm.

"True Dragon, my lord..." Watching the colossal True Dragon who had already shown signs of departing, a serpent, a ginseng, and a golden stone spoke with reluctance, words catching in their mouths.

"Enough. From now on, you shall be the masters of this secret realm. Do not put on the airs of a sentimental little girl." Baichuan glanced at the three who could not get their words out, shook his head gently, and looked into the distance. "I should be going as well. From now on, unless you possess the strength of a True Lord, do not leave this secret realm I built for you. I do not wish to one day hear news that you have been wiped out."

After saying this, he paid no further heed to their pleas and attempts to make him stay, and on his own accord rose into the sky and departed from this secret realm.

"True Dragon, my lord, take care! Thank you for your mercy. May your Dao journey be smooth and the Great Dao within your reach."

Watching the sacred, ethereal dragon depart, the three little ones, knowing the parting was inevitable, could not help but kneel to the ground with tears in their eyes to bid him farewell.

Led by the three little ones, countless beings behind them—whether weak or strong—knelt to the ground one after another, seeing off the departure of their creator.

On this day, the day the sacred True Dragon departed, that bearing, that expression, would perhaps be forever etched in the minds of every being in this secret realm, until eternity.

Perhaps in later generations, after they emerged into the world, it would become another tale of legend—but that is a story for another time.

Listening to the various sounds from behind, Baichuan, who had already decided to leave, did not hesitate in the slightest.

In the span of one month, everything he could do and everything he could leave behind, he had left in this secret realm. Under such circumstances, if they still proved useless and were destroyed, there was nothing more he could do.

Everything is fate; it cannot be forced.

In the end, although he was not a cold-hearted person, he was not the sentimental sort either. With his ordinary, unremarkable talent, if he wished to keep walking this thorn-strewn path of evolution, he would inevitably have to devote a focus that others did not possess. Any existence that affected his pursuit of the Dao and evolution would become his obstacle, his enemy.

Actually, he should have left a month ago. Unfortunately, at that time he happened to sense that a large number of humans had appeared outside this small secret realm he had built, exploring it. Wanting to see, before he left, whether these beings born because of him could handle everything on their own when faced with outsiders without his presence—this was also why a large group of humans had happened to rush in earlier.

Unfortunately, the final result was somewhat unsatisfactory, and in the end he had no choice but to step in personally.

This was also the reason he had stayed another month. One month was enough for him to significantly extend the time this secret realm could be maintained, and at the same time allowed him to compile a few suitable cultivation methods to hand over to them. With this, his ties with them were considered severed.

……

Leaving the secret realm, Baichuan headed straight for the Crystal Long Gong of Liao He, his goal being to obtain from Old Dragon the location of the capital of the Da Long Dynasty.

Unfortunately, it seemed this time his plans would come to nothing.

Because—

A few days later, having finally returned to Liao He, which he had not set foot in for five years, Baichuan, before he could go looking for Old Dragon Ao Qing, saw the countless ships upon Liao He, and beneath the seemingly calm river surface, the surging undercurrents.

What is this?

Looking at the countless gathered soldiers and officials, Baichuan could not help but be somewhat astonished.

What's going on?

Has Old Dragon's lair been invaded by outsiders?

But just what kind of enemy would dare to invade a True Dragon's lair?

Although he was not entirely clear on Old Dragon's exact strength, from the fact that the other party could earn the attention of the entire Da Long Dynasty, and that the dynasty's sovereign personally bestowed upon him the title of Dragon King, one could gauge a thing or two about the other's power and standing.

But what has happened now?

In his puzzlement, Baichuan halted his steps from afar, and then directly entered a state of true concealment within this world.

Having done this, he plunged straight into the vast Liao He, heading toward the Crystal Long Gong in his memory.

At this moment, one hour before Baichuan's arrival, at the bottom of the river, outside the Crystal Long Gong.

At the hazy bottom of Liao He, the riverbed was suddenly split in two by a mysterious force, parting the ten-thousand-catty heavy waters of the riverbed. A considerable number of various aquatic demon-kind could faintly be seen lying quietly upon the riverbed.

Standing among them was a group of elite soldiers clad in armor and wielding sharp weapons. At their head was a cold-faced middle-aged man, flanked on either side by two young men—one smiling, the other cynical—yet both radiating an equally powerful aura.

"Lord Liao? You see…"

Watching the cold-faced man hesitate and remain indecisive, the cynical young man on the right smiled, bent at the waist and leaned forward to ask for instructions.

"Hmph~ This official knows. You need not say more."

The middle-aged man snorted coldly. Glancing at the young man who appeared respectful but was in truth full of disdain, his gaze turned cold. In the end, he still raised his hand and waved it: "Thunder General, pass my order—attack this evil dragon's residence that consorts with foreign gods and wicked evils."

As this command fell, the imposing general at the very front of the disciplined soldiers behind him immediately sharpened his gaze and began to move.

One saw him tilt and swing the Changqiang in his hand, and the ranks began to shift in orderly fashion. Amid this shift, a mysterious force began to gather continuously above the soldiers' heads, slowly coalescing into a massive cloud of Qi.

In an instant, the already somewhat surging undercurrents at the bottom of the river became even more turbulent because of this.

"All soldiers, heed my command—attack with me!"

"Ha!"

At this moment, the general called "Thunder General" suddenly roared, and immediately the entire army began to gather strength. As countless soldiers shouted in unison, vast amounts of Blood Qi power, under the influence of that cloud of Qi, began to surge into his body.

Empowered by this, the Thunder General, as if blessed by the gods, summoned his full aura, fixed his gaze upon the great gates of Qing Jun Fudi ahead, then raised high his right hand—veins bulging as it gripped his spear—and gathered the power of the entire army into a single astonishing spear that he hurled forth.

"Boom!"

In an instant, the cloud of Qi above transformed into a colossal blood-colored tiger waiting to devour its prey. The blood-colored tiger roared, leapt into that blood-red energy spear, and with terrifying momentum pounced forward.

At this moment, as if sensing the arrival of a terrifying crisis, the previously placid Qing Jun Fudi suddenly rippled with a transparent barrier resembling dragon scales—this was the protective barrier Ao Qing, Dragon King of Da Long, had laid down for his residence.

Silently, the dragon-scale barrier trembled. Under the influence of the boundless water Qi around it, the dragon scales upon the barrier suddenly seemed to come alive, and after absorbing a great amount of water Qi, a scaled azure dragon, claws bared and fangs brandished, actually swam out from within.

In an instant, two formless beasts—the azure dragon and the blood tiger—began to fight madly at the bottom of the river, stirring up surging undercurrents throughout the entire riverbed.

In this frantic entanglement of dragon coiling and tiger pouncing, tiger biting and dragon thrashing, biting and tearing at each other madly, vast quantities of illusory scales and fur fell like rain, and occasionally transparent liquid could be seen dripping down.

All the living beings across the riverbed, at this moment because of the two colossal beasts' entanglement, began to suffer the calamity of innocent involvement, and driven by the instinct to survive, frantically beat their tails as they fled toward more distant places.

Not long after, having struggled for only one hour, the scaled azure dragon, lacking follow-up support of power, began to grow weak.

Seeing this, the Thunder General below sharpened his gaze and exclaimed in delight: "Worthy of being a veteran powerhouse among True Lords—even a mere barrier he laid down is this troublesome. But no matter how strong, in the end it is but an unowned thing."

"All soldiers, heed my command—the moment has come. Follow me and break through!"

At the end, the Thunder General also threw back his head and let out a long howl.

"Hah!!!"

"Roar—!!!"

As countless soldiers shouted in unison, the blood-colored tiger, as if nourished by something, also let out a roar.

The next moment, the blood-colored tiger leapt, fixed its gaze upon the weak dragon's reverse-scale spot on its neck, and violently opened its bloody maw to bite down.

"Ao…"

A piercing dragon roar rang out, and the green-scaled dragon instantly lost its anchor, bursting apart into a spray of water that scattered in all directions.

At the same time, the transparent scaled light barrier around the estate below shattered in response, and the massive blood-colored long spear slammed straight into the estate's main gate.

"Buzz~~buzz~~buzz—"

Amid a metallic shriek, the gate that represented the Dragon King's face—was thoroughly smashed wide open!

A few breaths later, all the commotion faded, leaving only a ravaged palace with its doors flung wide.

"Yaaaaaa…………"

"Who dares to trespass upon Qing Jun Fudi?"

With a furious roar, a burly man clad in a short blue-scaled armor, with a green face, bristling hair, upturned whiskers, and fins for ears, gripped a trident and led out a ragged, trembling band of aquatic Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals.

His gaze, furious as if about to spit fire, swept repeatedly over the attackers, yet upon closer inspection, one could see that the depths of the burly man's eyes were filled with the resolve of death.

A quarter-hour earlier, inside Qing Jun Fudi.

"Boom boom……"

"Roar! … Howl! …"

Amid the faint and intermittent roars of various beasts, violent booms rang out one after another.

Each boom signified another fierce strike against the transparent barrier above the estate, and at the same time filled the masterless hearts within the residence with dread.

"Th-this, what are we going to do?"

Listening to the terrifying sounds from outside, a young man with a flood-dragon face paced back and forth in panic, rubbing his hands together, his expression full of terror. "F-Father, what on earth did you do? To make the court send a great army to attack us—it's over, it's over, does this Crown Prince have to die today?"

"N-no, I can't die, this Crown Prince only just revived, I haven't even enjoyed myself enough yet, how can I die again? What if we surrender?"

"But will they accept surrender? I am Father King's only heir, surely they will accept this Crown Prince's surrender?"

"Dammit, Father King, when will you ever come back? I-I don't want to die!"

Beside him, a green-faced burly man watched this scene and silently heaved a sigh in his heart.

Sigh, what manner of being is the Dragon King? And what manner of heroine was my sis… his wife? How could the two of them produce a, a son like this…

But recalling his late wife, and the Dragon King who had encountered some mishap and could not return in time, the green-faced burly man silently made a decision.

The Dragon King's only blood, the son of his own sister, his own nephew—no matter how useless, he could not abandon him. Otherwise, all the Dragon King's efforts would have been for nothing.

Thinking this, he slowly walked up to the young man, and a pair of thick, powerful large hands pressed directly onto the other's shoulders, meeting his gaze.

"Ah!? Uncle? Wh-what's wrong? Are we surrendering… aaaagh, pain! Uncle! Let go! It hurts!!"

Caught off guard and pinned down, the flood-dragon-faced young man was about to cry out and resist, but then quickly realized what was happening and hurriedly called his uncle for help. Yet before he could finish speaking, a sharp pain shot through him. The young man, who knew his uncle fairly well, immediately realized he had misspoken and hurriedly tried to make amends.

Taking a deep, silent breath and suppressing the urge to beat someone, the green-faced burly man quietly loosened his large hands, which had unconsciously clenched tight, and said: "Ao Xiu, listen carefully. The Dragon King is now tied up by other matters outside and cannot return. Everything now depends entirely on us…"

"Th-then what do we do, Uncle? I-I don't want to die!"

"I know! Listen to me, take this." As he spoke, the green-faced burly man took out a life-preserving item he had treasured for a long long time—a Faba once obtained by the Dragon King from some ancient inheritance: a jade token inscribed with mysterious symbols. When the holder activated it, it could instantly teleport them a thousand miles away. Unfortunately, it was a single-use item and could only teleport the holder alone, which was why the Dragon King had originally bestowed it upon him.

Now, he was about to hand it over to his useless nephew at this final, critical moment.

"Th-this? What is it, Uncle?"

"If the great army breaks in and the Dragon King has still not returned, and I too have fallen in battle, then pour your power into it."

The green-faced burly man did not answer directly, but gave him an instruction. Because if he didn't, he feared that as soon as he finished speaking, the other would activate it and teleport himself away. Knowing his nephew's character, such a thing was entirely possible.

But a mere thousand miles—that distance could not escape the court's pursuit. It could only buy a little Time while waiting for a miracle.

……

Recalling all the arrangements he had already made, while sweeping his gaze over the many invaders, trying to etch them deeply into his memory, the burly man's scanning gaze suddenly froze after a few breaths, because he saw a familiar face!

With an uncertain expression flickering across his face, he deliberated for a moment, and before the other could make the first move, he burst into rage, raised his hand, and accused: "Lord Mo? What is the meaning of this?"

"The Dragon King treated you well in the past, did he not? And today you repay the Dragon King's kindness like this?"

"You've really grown capable, haven't you—personally blasting open the residence of your former teacher, the Dragon King. If the world learned of this, how would they view a thankless wretch like you?"

"Sigh~~ I……" Facing the furious rebuke from his once closest friend, the cold-faced middle-aged man at the head flushed with shame, unable to help covering his face with a sigh of guilt, yet not knowing what to say.

Because in this situation, anything he said would be useless. Whatever the reason, on the surface, this was the fact.

The middle-aged man addressed as "Lord Mo" stood with his back turned, covering his face with his sleeve in silence for a while, before sighing: "I'm sorry, Brother Tang. The matter concerning the Dragon King was personally decided by His Majesty. Today, each of us serves his own lord…"

"Hey, Lord Mo, at this point, are you still going to spare a thought for old times?" Before the middle-aged man could continue, the man beside him who had been wearing a half-smile spoke up and interrupted. Then he raised his head and studied the green-faced burly man carefully for a few moments, before crossing his arms, resting his chin on his hand, and saying thoughtfully: "I've long heard that you, Tang the Second, are always rough on the outside but shrewd within. Today I see it's true. But don't bother trying to stall for Time. I'm not afraid to tell you—your Dragon King is probably still trapped deep in Mingtu and can't get free. Counting on him? Hahahaha."

"You?!"

Having his scheme exposed to his face, even the green-faced burly man couldn't help but step back in shock and fury—not only because the intruder understood him so well, but also because he had just learned the specific situation of his own Dragon King.

Trapped deep in Mingtu!

"Stop your 'you you you-ing', it's time to act, my dear Lord Mo~~ otherwise His Majesty's side won't be easy to answer to!" In a strange accent, the half-smiling man delivered his final ultimatum.

"……" Hearing this, the middle-aged man also caught his breath, for he had already detected the threat hidden in the words.

After a few breaths, he silently clasped his hands behind his back, tilted his head up, closed his eyes, and said resolutely: "Thunder God General, prepare…"

"Splash splash splash…………"

At the same moment, just then, from the distant Liao He, a strange, rhythmic sound of water rippling suddenly rang out.

It was the sound of water stirred up by a massive creature swimming.

At a time like this, who would dare come here?

In an instant, everyone present couldn't help but look up, and in the blink of an eye, every face changed—because—

The newcomer was a dragon of enormous size!

A dragon!!!

In this world, the people present, all of no small status, truly knew exactly how many dragons existed in the world.

Without a doubt—one!

That was the Dragon King personally enfeoffed by His Majesty—Ao Qing.

Mm, except for the green-faced burly man.

In an instant, everyone realized just who had come!!!

The Dragon Lord had arrived at the very last moment!!!

……

(End of Chapter)